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Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. No matter your age, it's never too late to try something new. While it can be easy to settle into a routine, you know, your usual hobbies, how you spend your time, who you spend your time with. You know what? Later in life is a great time to switch things up. Now, we must acknowledge that as we age, for some of us, things we like to do may not be as easy or as accessible as they used to be. Maybe you don't want to stand in that concert hall for two hours, that would be me, or your usual pickup basketball game requires a bit more tiger bomb after the final bucket.

Now, just because you received an invitation to join the AARP around your 50th birthday, or you hit retirement age in your 60s doesn't mean you can't continue to have fun, try new things, and learn a new skill. Luckily, New York City has plenty of resources to offer folks like online databases that compile activities that you can enjoy around the city, and over 300 older adult centers designed for New Yorkers who still want to get out and have fun.

With me now to talk about how to thrive in New York after 50, yes, we're going with that AARP number, and for the record, I'm in that group, to take your calls is Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez. She's the commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging. Lorraine, thank you for making time.

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: Oh, thank you so much, Alison. I thought that was a perfect segue. We believe that ability is ageless, talent is ageless, and obviously, love and fun are ageless. Thank you for that introduction. I don't know that most New Yorkers realize there's so much for them to do. Go ahead.

Alison Stewart: Yes, listeners, we want to get you in on the conversation. Are you 50 and/or have hit retirement age? How do you have fun in the city or in your community? Have you picked up any new hobbies? 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC, or if you want to shout out an organization or a group that you've joined and you want people to know about, we would love to hear it. You can join us on the air, 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Maybe you've discovered a new passion later in life or you want to give people a suggestion on how to get into a new hobby. We like to help each other out on this show. Let's crowdsource this, 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC.

You may call in and join us on air. You can also text that number. Our social media is available as well @allofitwnyc. Oh my gosh, the calls are coming in, the tweets, the texts are coming in. We'll get to some of those in a minute. I do want to talk to Lorraine a bit first. Broadly speaking, Lorraine, how does the city think strategically about accommodating and servicing its older citizens so they can still be active and live fulfilling lives?

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: Thank you for the question, Alison. Everything we're going to talk about is for the 60-plus. I just want to be real clear about that. The city has made a commitment to older adult services as the federal government did with the Older Americans Act of many, many years ago, but that came as a result of economic need, and that continues. With that, we also learned from the pandemic that people need socialization. All of us were so isolated during the pandemic, and then we realized, not then, but we've always known that social isolation is really a great situation. Not only for all, but particularly for older adults. What? We want to have fun.

There's a little song that goes there. Not girls, but everybody wants to have fun, and so we create opportunities, as you said, at the 300 older adult clubs throughout the city. We have 36 NORCs. For those of you who wonder like we're talking in code, NORCs are Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities where they either could be physical, or they could be geographic, and where more than 20% of the population is older adults. That community needs things so that it can continue thriving. Do you want me to talk a little bit about what's going on, even this week in that [crosstalk]?

Alison Stewart: Absolutely.

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: Sure. Like right now, as we are speaking, there's a Zumba class taking place at Grand Street Settlement in Manhattan. Then on Friday, if you want to swim, you can go to Bronx House. One of the things that I love is that we have a comedy improv because we have a whole thing about talents is timeless at Brooklyn's Bergen Basin in Marine Park. Next week, JCC in Staten Island is going to have a class just on classical music. Yesterday, I was at A Philip Randolph with Commissioner Iscol from Emergency Management giving them recognition for all they've done during emergencies.

We were able to see and listen to their fabulous choir, so there's a lot going on. Even Thursday, there's going to be a trivia contest at SNAP in Queens. There's something for everyone all of the time throughout the city.

Alison Stewart: Our phone lines are full already. Let's get to some callers. Susan from Manhattan is calling in. Susan, are you part of that dance team, the Pacemakers?

Susan: Yes. I am the founder of the Pacemaker Senior Citizens Dance Team.

Alison Stewart: Oh my gosh. Okay, tell us how y'all started.

Susan: Oh, well, first of all, thank you for having me on air, and thank you, commissioner, for doing all the wonderful things you do for New York City. We really appreciate it.

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: Thank you.

Susan: The Pacemaker started because, it's an interesting story, I got ridiculed on Facebook for being too old to dance in public. True story, I have the receipts. From there I was like I couldn't believe this happened to me. People were really saying, "You're too old, you're too old. You shouldn't be dancing in public." I was licking my wounds that night and talking to my daughter over dinner, and my daughter said, "Why don't you start your own old people dance team?" I thought, "That's interesting. I don't know how to do that," but I put an ad in Playbill and backstage calling for people to come for an audition.

I didn't know where we were going with this, but I said, "Let's do this. Let's start a dance team for older folks." By the way, we are not offended by the word old, we consider it aspirational. You want to get old, right? What's the alternative? We're taking back that word. When somebody calls me old, I say thank you. Now the Pacemakers perform all over. Crowds absolutely love us, and we always love adding new members onto the team. You have to be at least 60 years old to be a Pacemaker though.

Alison Stewart: Susan, thank you so much. I love the enthusiasm in her voice.

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: I'm not so curious about your name, but I love the concept. Thank you for doing that.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Commissioner, when you think about it, if someone is like, "Why should I try something new? I'm good the way I am." What's your pitch to somebody who's maybe feeling a little bit of inertia, not really that interested engaging? Give me the pitch on why you should try a new skill, why you should get out there.

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: First of all, engagement is one of the best ways that you can stay healthy both mentally as well as physically. Engagement is key to our well-being. The other thing that's really important is that you just discover you have to be a lifelong learner. I was reading about curiosity and curiosity comes when you have a gap in information, you want to just know and do more. One of the things that we realized during this talent is timeless and our ability is ageless. We had a marathon runner who was 67, who ran marathons across the world.

Why did he start that? He had a brain aneurysm, had a stroke, and that was his way of recovery, and then he became an avid marathon runner. I could not even imagine what that's like. I couldn't imagine what that takes, but you never know when it's going to lead you to something better and enriching and rewarding. That's why being a lifelong learner and being curious, that never ends, keep pursuing it.

Alison Stewart: Got a text, a shout-out to the Bergen Ukulele Group. "We meet at the Cresco Senior Center every week. Most of our members are between the ages of 60 and 80, and we have a great time playing songs from every decade on the ukulele. Check us out on Facebook and Instagram." Someone else tweeted, "I have been a volunteer with NYC Care since my early 50s almost 10 years ago. I help people with tax returns, tutor immigrants, help first-generation students complete college applications and FAFSA. They have many opportunities." Thank you for helping other people. That's a great, great thing to do. Let's talk to Lori on line one who is calling in. Hi, Lori.

Lor: Hi. How are you?

Alison Stewart: Doing great.

Lori: Thanks for having me.

Alison Stewart: Tell us about your group.

Lori: Okay. I am with Coming of Age which is actually a program of PSS, which gets its funding from Lorraine and the older New York City Aging. Thank you, Lorraine. We work with people at Coming of Age who are 50 or older who might be thinking about, "Gee, what do I want to do when I retire just so that I don't retire and then go to nothing and get bored and depressed and develop whatever kind of disease?" We do walking tours, we do workshops on starting businesses. We have a class starting on February 5th, Explore Your Future.

We also have a workshop, an art exhibit I really want to shout out that starts tomorrow at one of our older adult centers in Harlem. It's all about quilting, and it's a magnificent set of quilts at the Oberia D Dempsey Center at 127 West 127th Street. That's free to anybody to come in and see these quilts.

Alison Stewart: Lori, thank you so much. Wow, activities right in the next 24 hours. Lori, thank you so much for calling in, my guest. You are my guest, callers, as well as Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, commissioner of the New York City Department for Aging. We're talking about city resources. We are crowdsourcing resources for things to do later in life. We've been talking about these OACs, these older adult centers. What can one expect at an OAC?

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: Each one of them, as you can see from some of our callers, each one of them is very unique. They represent the members and each one of the members brings something to it. Some have book clubs, some have debate clubs, some have their avid bingo, some of them have championship billiards, some of them have swimming available. If they're each are opportunities and as unique as the neighborhood and the members there. You also can be an influencer, so you might go to one and it doesn't have what you want. What did the Pacemakers do? The Pacemakers created a dance group, and so that's also an opportunity.

You can be an influencer and make it your older adult center and that's what we want. We want people to be engaged because we know that the longevity is really based on health and well-being, and that is important to us. In these older adult clubs, you also get a nutritious meal. That's also another way of, not only getting some kind of nutritional value for the day but there's nothing better, you know that and I know that. Than sitting around a table and eating with friends and having a great chat. Our kitchens are the hubs of our home. Older adult centers are that hub and where you start really exchanging opportunities.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Anne from Rockville Center. Anne, I can't wait for people to hear what you do. Go for it, Anne.

Anne: Hi, Alison. Thanks for taking my call. I'm so glad you're back and healthy.

Alison Stewart: Thank you.

Anne: I'm closer to 82 than I am to 80. During COVID, I took up two hobies, the dulcimer and crocheting, but my main thing that keeps me going is I ride my motorcycle with a group of, I don't have a Harley, I have an Indian, a group of Harley Davidson riders. I am by far the oldest and I'm only one of two women. Let me tell you, I'm not the token. They wait for me or I wait for them and I'm on the bike. I'm as healthy as they are off the bike. Well, I got arthritis, but that's what I think keeps me young. I'm sorry that this is a call-in for services that the city offers, but it's out there. Go on to YouTube.

There's so much that you can find. Clubs you can find, anything. Every year I try to take up a new hobby. Right now I'm trying to take up Spanish, and I'm sad to say I'm falling behind already and it's only January.

Alison Stewart: Anne, you're so busy. Honestly, a round of applause for Anne on a motorcycle. [claps]

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: An Indian, those are the classics, the new Harley. Well, maybe Harley won't like me to say that, but the Indian motorcycle is phenomenal. I keep thinking Georgia O'Keeffe became famous after the age of 60. Julia Child became famous after the age of 60. It's never too late to discover what your talent is and what your gift is and pursue it. I recommend it. I am impressed. I don't think I see myself on a motorcycle, but that was impressive.

[laughter]

Lori: Our phone lines are full of people who want to share their organizations and their experiences. We'll take a quick break. We'll have more with Commissioner Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez and more of your calls. This is All Of It.

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Alison Stewart: You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, Commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging. We're talking about all of the great resources for seniors and folks out there who maybe are in the retirement age and they want to try a new hobby, want to engage with other people. Great resources in the city. You listeners, you are resources to each other as well. We've been asking people to call in and tell us their stories. Let's talk to Joe from Jersey City. Hi, Joe. Thanks for calling in.

Joe: Hello, Alison. Thank you so much for having me. I would love to tell you about Sundays at JASA. I'm the program director for Sundays at JASA, which is an organization that serves seniors. I run the continuation program. We have all sorts of humanity courses for seniors, 55 and over, and we actually have a semester. We run like a college semesters and we have a semester starting March 3rd. We have in-person classes at Marymount Manhattan College and we also have virtual classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. It's a wonderful program.

We are also having an open house on February 25th at 11:00 AM to 12:30 at Marymount Manhattan College. Just to give you a quick overview of the courses that we offer, we offer courses on the opera with Jane Marsh from the Metropolitan Opera.

Alison Stewart: Wow.

Joe: We have a crossword construction course where we have had 24 crossword puzzles published in the New York Times. This is an online course that you can do in the comfort of your own home. We also have courses like creative writing, acting, art appreciation, philosophy, current events. It's just a wonderful program. It's been around in New York City for over 30 years and it's for all New Yorkers. We have really been trying to spread the word with our limited nonprofit budget that trying to get all New Yorkers in to take these wonderful classes. They are fantastic.

Alison Stewart: We feel you on the nonprofit part. Joe, thank you so much for calling in. I did want to swing back to the commissioner. Commissioner, would you share the demographics of New York? How many New Yorkers are there over 60?

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: In New York City, we have 1.8 million older adults, and that number is growing. I want to give you a little bit of the profile of that demographic. If you look at the most current census, Asian American individuals have increased by 180%. African American older adults over the age of 60 increased by 75%. Latino older adults have increased by 100%. They've doubled in number. When you start looking at that population, it is really diverse in age as well as culturally and religious.

That is why our programming is so diverse because we need to appeal to the various interests and the changing demographics that we're experiencing in New York but, Alison, if you would allow me for one second. I want to go back to something that the Pacemakers talked about when people told her she shouldn't be dancing in public. One of the things that older adults and all of us at some point will confront is ageism. It is insidious. It's the last ism that exists that hasn't been tackled.

We really need to debunk that because you've heard just from that little core of listeners that have come in, there's a lot to offer, there's a lot to learn, and we as a society need to stop this whole notion that I reach a certain age and I should be marginalized. I remember when we thought about that about women, and we're still having that struggle, but for age, this is the one category that we're all, if we're blessed with life, that we're all going to experience. It behooves us to really tackle and combat ageism in every form that we see it.

Alison Stewart: Got a text. "One of the things I love is the NYC Parks Department allows those over 60 years old to have access to NYC gyms in all boroughs for $25 a year. There are classes, weight machines, stationary bikes, treadmills, plus, there's a great way to stay in touch with your community. Thanks, a 69-year-old AARP member. Let's talk to Diana from Manhattan. Hi, Diana. Thank you for calling in.

Diana: Hi. How are you? I love your show.

Alison Stewart: Oh, thanks so much.

Diana: I'm transgender. I do The Diana Montford Show on public access. I don't get paid for it. I've been doing it, I'm almost 68, I've been doing it for 34 years, so literally half my life has been devoted to this. It's a great activity. It helps my community. I do a lot of LGBTQ shows, and oddly enough, a lot of metaphysics shows. I loved your interview with the novelist and I just won't give up. I've told everyone. Someone naturally said, "Oh, well, you should train a replacement. You are not getting any younger." This woman was 77.

I said, "Listen, honey, [laughter] I'm the only me there is, and ain't no replacement, babe." If there's anything you can keep doing, keep doing it. Do not retire. I will never retire. I'm going to do my show until I no longer can.

Alison Stewart: Diana, thank you so much. You knew that woman was in trouble when Diana said, "Listen, honey." Let's talk to Carol from Brooklyn. Hi, Carol.

Carol: Hi. I'm 54 years old and I teach belly dance. Actually, it's interesting you just mentioned about the recreation centers because I have my own school, Tandava Arts, and I teach like a billion classes a week. We do one class for free in Brooklyn, in Williamsburg partnered with Shape Up New York. Shape Up New York is a free resource and you can go to classes for free. You don't have to be a member of the recreation center. They have all different kinds of classes. There are two of us belly dance teachers or SharQui development workout. One is up in Harlem and I am in Williamsburg and I teach Thursdays at 6:00.

You just go to their website, you sign up, and you show up, and they give you a hip scarf, and you belly dance. The great thing about belly dance is that it's very natural feeling. It's very easy on the body. The workout method that I use in SharQui, I keep your heart rate up. No crazy jumping. It's not Zumba, no banging, no slamming. It's very controlled, but you get an incredible workout and you really work all your core muscles, which is extremely important as you get older to keep your spine erect and to also bring a lot of awareness to those core muscles. I have a performance troop with my own school and we're all different ages up into our 60s.

Alison Stewart: Carol.

Carol: There's a great teacher Anna [unintelligible 00:22:21] and she teaches actively and she's pushing 90.

Alison Stewart: Love that part. Didn't see that one coming. Carol, thank you so much for all the information. I did want to address the idea of it's important to talk about accessibility and transportation because that may be an obstacle for some people. What does the city, the Department of Aging offer when it comes to resources to make transportation easier?

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: For some older adult clubs, they have transportation where they offer transportation portal to portal, in other words, from somewhere in the neighborhood to the older adult club. We also have some transportation programs that are borough-wide. Someone can call those and see if they can transport them. Not usually to older adult clubs, but to appointments and to other sources for doctors, grocery stores, and other needs that you may have. Of course, there is also Accessoride, something offered by the state and the MTA. Of course, there's that wonderful magical card called the MTA Half-Fare card that's available for people 60 or 60-plus, and that also gives you access and mobility.

Alison Stewart: A text says, "My best friend is 78 years old. She dances salsa like a pro and attends get-togethers every Friday at Fred Astaire Studios. Never too old to dance and keep active." Commissioner, for those who are still working or maybe want to work, want to have a career switch, a job switch. What kind of career resources do you offer older New Yorkers?

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: It's one of the areas that we know that we need to do more in. We have three opportunities for older adults. The first one we have is an employment program for people with low income. Then we will provide some subsidized placement at non-for-profits and give you an opportunity to learn new skills with the hope that the nonprofit or another employer will hire you. The other one that we're very proud of is something we call Silver Corps, which we work with AmeriCorps.

Not only do we encourage volunteerism of older adults, but then we look at those individuals who want to work and start looking at helping them get the credentials and the certifications they may need for this new career or the improvement of their current careers. Then the other one that we have is something, what we used to call, it's Silver Corps 2, which is for any older adult who wants to work in a city agency on a part-time basis just for a project. There's an opportunity there.

Then the one that we are also very proud of is that this was started just a year and a half ago, two years ago with the city DCAS agency, the city's central administration operation was to create an opportunity for city retirees who want to come back and do service. They can work, not only in their old agency but any agency throughout the city and use their skills that way. Most people, interestingly enough, don't want to go back to their old job. They want to try something new, and so this is an opportunity for city retirees to avail themselves of an employment opportunity.

Alison Stewart: I want to try to get in one more call. Kim in Jackson Heights. Kim, go for it.

Kim: Hi, thank you for taking my call. It's good to have you back on the air. I'm president of Times Squares Square Dance Club. We've been in business for 40 years. I'm turning 71 later this month. We dance at 490 Hudson Street, the PS 3 in the village. Square dancing is a great activity for people to keep their mind, their body, and their socialization skills up. We have members from the 20s to the 80s. We welcome everybody. You can read about us on timessquares.nyc or Facebook or Meetup.

Alison Stewart: All right, Kim. Thank you so much and thanks to Commissioner Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, she's commissioner on the New York City Department for the Aging. Thank you so much for your time today, commissioner.

Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez: Thank you so much. Alison, keep the conversation going. Combat ageism in every way we can. Thank you for having me.

Alison Stewart: Of course. A couple of things we wanted to say, people wanted to know a couple of the websites. jasa.org, that's what Joe was talking about. If you missed anything, we do have transcripts of this show, which go up a couple of days later on our website so you can go back through and see all the different things that people mentioned. We did want to make sure that you understand that the Reduced-Fare MetroCard is actually 65-plus, not 60. I think that was just a slip of the tongue. Thanks to people who text in and thanks, of course, to our senior producer Kate Hinds, who was a transportation reporter and caught that right away.

There is more All of It on the way. After a successful off-Broadway won, the dramatic musical Days of Wine and Roses about an alcoholic couple's downward spiral opened on Broadway last weekend to glowing reviews for its leads. Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James, we'll speak with O'Hara, d'Arcy James, and director Michael Greif. You'll hear from them after the news.

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